This home, completely renovated by Suzanne Clark Realty Group and Diamonds in the Ruff LLC, sold before being listed. PHOTO COURTESY OF SUZANNE CLARK REALTY GROUP

Written by Shari Berg, Contributor

Most prospective home buyers would have taken one look at the property at 3622 NE 11th Ave. and quickly passed it by as unsalvageable.With rotted, peeling wood siding and a roof that was in desperate need of replacing, the property appeared as if it might literally fall over. It certainly was not the kind of property into which most consumers would want to invest their time or money.

But Suzanne Clark isn’t a typical home buyer.A full-time, full-service real estate professional, Clark is the principal broker of the Suzanne Clark Group at Keller Williams Portland Central. Clark is well versed in the Greater Portland housing market. She has been helping clients to invest in quality property since 2006.

This is what the home, at 3622 NE 11th Ave. in Portland, looked like prior to major renovations. PHOTO COURTESY OF SUZANNE CLARK REALTY GROUP

In 2012, she joined forces with a buyer’s agent with which she had a prior working relationship and together, they decided to use their knowledge of the market to flip homes. Their partnership has expanded with the creation of Diamonds in the Ruff LLC, which includes additional partners. To date, five homes in the Portland Metro area have been flipped. Four sold within a day of being listed, and the fifth still under construction.

House flipping is not a new phenomenon. The housing market has slowly been rebounding since the crash of 2008, and more investors are putting their money into flipping homes. According to data from RealtyTrac, 949 single-family homes were flipped locally during the first six months of 2013. Flippers saw an average profit of $37,000 for each flip – higher than the national average of $18,000.

In order to make a profit, flippers must know the market, thoroughly research neighborhoods where they plan to flip homes and be knowledgeable about a property’s true value. Overpricing a property is one of the biggest mistakes in house flipping.

“We want to put together a good product and we know what the market needs because we work with home buyers and sellers,” Clark said. “We price our homes as if we were giving advice to any other seller.”

Clark uses her real estate expertise to find homes that lend themselves to flipping in neighborhoods where quality housing is desired. She then decides how to restyle the home based on the history of the property and the neighborhood in which it’s located.

“We customize them all,” she said. “We don’t have a pre-set system. We go into every house and pick out the fixtures and other interior items to use that fit the property. We don’t want them to look cookie cutter.”

Upon completion of the renovation, the house at 3622 NE 11th Ave. sold without ever being listed on the market, Clark said. The home took five months from start to finish, which is longer than the average 90 days it usually takes Clark’s team.“This one took longer because we basically scraped the house down to the foundation and started from scratch,” she said.

The house sold, Clark said, because it was a good fit for the neighborhood.“One of the biggest mistakes some flippers make is they come into a neighborhood and try to put a huge, fancy home somewhere it looks totally out of place,” she said. “We were very conscious of the architecture of this home. It fits the neighborhood.”The property Clark’s team currently is flipping is located in the Rose City neighborhood. The bungalow will be a total restoration, with the addition of a master suite that will encompass the entire second floor. Many of the home’s original features will be used during the restoration. The open floor plan includes three bedrooms, two baths, a gourmet kitchen, family room, finished basement, new windows and exterior paint and is being “tastefully done with integrity,” Clark said.She anticipates the home will be listed in the $450,000 to $475,000 price range and will be available in mid May.

Suzanne Clark (third from right) and the rest of her Realty Group team stand ready to renovate homes and help both sellers and buyers. PHOTO COURTESY OF SUZANNE CLARK REALTY GROUP